This was not at all a difficult match for Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool
manager, to smile about. Yes, this was the second goalless draw in
succession against opposition whom his team had been expected to defeat, but
Liverpool had summoned 26 shots, 15 of them on target and were unfortunate
to discover that Reading had a reserve goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy, who, in
spite of being rusty, was in near-superhuman form.

Rodgers has been in far less comfortable situations in his first season at
Anfield, so, even though he was questioned about his determination not to
mix tactics and about Andy